infidelity. Indeed I have ever found, that deifm is most prevalent in thofe countries where the people are the wildest and most bigotted. A refined and cultivated understanding, fhccked at their folly, thinks it cannot poffibly recede too far from it, and is often tempted to fly to the very oppofite extreme. When reafon is much offended by any particular dogma of faith or act of worship, she is but too apt, in the midst of her disgust, to reject the whole. The great misfortune is, that in these countries, the most violent champions for religion are commonly the most weak and ignorant; and certainly, one weak advocate in any cause, but more particularly in a mysteri. ous one, that requires to be handled with delicacy and address, is capable of hurting it more,than fifty of its warmeft opponents. Silly books, that have been written by weak well-meaning men, in defence of religion, I am confident have made more infidels than all the works of Bolingbroke, Shaftesbury, or even Voltaire himself: they only want to make people believe that there are fome ludicrous things to be faid against it; but thefe grave plodding blockheads do all they can to perfuade us that there is little thing to be faid for it. The univerfal error of these gentry, is that they ever attempt to explain, and reconcile to fenfe and reason those very mysteries that the first principles of our religion teach us are incomprehenfible; and of confequence neither objects of fenfe nor reafon. I once heard an ignorant priest declare, that he did not find the least difficulty, in

conceiving the mystery of the Trinity, or that of incarnation; and that he would undertake to make them plain to the meaneft capacities. A gentlemen prefent told him, he had no doubt he could, to all fuch capacities as his own. The priest took it as a compliment, and made him a bow. Now, don't you think, that a few fuch teachers as this, must hurt religion more by their zeal, than all its opponents can by their wit? Had these heroes still kept behind the bulwarks of faith and of mystery, their adverfaries never could have touched them; but they have been foolish enough to abandon these strong holds; and dared them forth to combat on the plain fields of reafon and of fenfe. A fad piece of generalíhip indeed: fuch defenders must ever ruin the best cause.

But although the people of education here defpife the wild fuperftition of the vulgar, yet they go regularly to mafs, and attend the ordinances with great refpe& and decency; and they are much pleased with us for our conformity to their customs, and for not appearing openly to defpife their rites and ceremonies. I own, this attention of theirs, not to offend weak minds, tends much to give us a favourable opinion both of their hearts and understandings. They don't make any boaft of their infidelity; neither do they pefter you with it as in France, where it is perpetually buzz'd in your ears; and where, although they V O L. II. G

pretend to believe lefs, they do in fact believe more than any nation on the continent.

I know of nothing that gives one a worse opinion of a man, than to see him make a fhew and parade of his contempt for things held facred: it is an open infult to the judgment of the public. A countryman of ours, about two years ago, offended egregiously in this article, and the people still speak of him both with contempt and deteftation. It happened one day, in the great church, during the elevation of the host, when every body else were on their knees, that he ftill kept ftanding, without any appearance of respect to the ceremony. A young nobleman that was near him expreffed his surprise at this. "It is strange, Sir, (faid he) that you, who "have had the education of a gentleman, and "ought to have the fentiments of one, fhould "chufe thus to give fo very public offence." "Why, Sir, (faid the Englishman) I don't be"lieve in tranfubftantiation."" Neither do "I, Sir, (replied the other) and yet you see I "kneel."

Adieu. I am called away to fee the preparations for the feast. In my next I shall probably give you some account of it.

.3

P. S. I have been watching with great care the return of our comet, but as yet I have discovered nothing of it: I obferve too, with a very indifferent glass, several large round spots on the sun's disk, and am far from being certain that it is not one of them: but I fhall not alarm you any more with this fubject.

G 2

LETTER XXIX

Palermo, July 10th.

ON Sunday, the 8th,. we had the

long expected Siroce wind, which, although our expectations, had been raised pretty high, yet I own it greatly exceeded them. Ever since we came to our new lodging, the thermometer has stood betwixt 72 and 74; at our old one, it was often at 79 and 80; fo great is the difference betwixt the heart of the city and the fea-fhore. At present, our windows not only front to the North, but the fea is immediately under them, from whence we are constantly refreshed by a delightful cooling breeze. Friday and Saturday were uncommonly cool, the mercury never being higher than 72; and although the Sirocc is faid to have fet in ear

on Sunday morning, the air in our apartments, which are very large, with high cielings, was not in the least affected by it at eight o'clock, when I rofe. I opened the door without having any fufpicion of fuch a change; and indeed I never was more astonished in my life. The first blast of it on my face felt like the burning steam from the mouth of an oven. I drew back my head and fhut the door, calling out to Fullarton, that the